Sons of the Father
by MoonGoddessShadow
Summary: Sam and Dean receive some good news from Castiel, but it's still not the easiet thing to accept or believe.


A/N: Yet another distraction from my bigger fics! Goody. I tell you, these plot bunnies are killing me. I blame this one on people in the forums, tossing ideas around. This one just stuck. While I consider all my other Supernatural fics to be a part of their own 'verse, I'm not sure where I stand with this one. It could be in continuity with the others or not. Could really go either way. Anyway, enjoy!

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"I still think it's bullshit," Dean said, moving past Castiel to reach the room's small fridge and pull out a beer. The angel watched him with that unwavering stare as he cracked it open and took a long drink.

"Believe me, it's true. I've seen it with my own eyes," he replied. Cas seemed to be having an easier time with this Dean, who shook his head.

"It's frickin' weird," he muttered, dropping onto the edge of bed, which squeaked under the new weight. Sam was already perched on the end of the other, head resting on his folded hands. He hadn't said a word since Castiel had given them the news; Dean couldn't tell if he was shocked or just trying to process it all.

"You're telling me," Cas replied. "But it makes sense, if you consider everything." The angel remained standing, though he'd shrugged his trench coat off.

"It does, actually," Sam murmured, drawing the attention of the other men to him. His hands stayed where they were, but his eyes darted up to them. At Dean's incredulous look, he nodded reassuringly. "Really, it does. You never thought all the similarities were weird?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Dean trailed off, looking for explanations in the chintzy motel room around them. When nothing jumped out immediately, his eyes snapped back to Sam. "You actually believe that Dad's secretly God?"

"Dude, it makes sense." Dean snorted, while Sam's hands fell away, revealing the resolve drawn across his features. "A cold, distant father that's almost never seen or heard from? Right, that doesn't sound familiar at all." Soaking the logic in, Dean tilted his head to one side, eyebrows darting up.

"Alright, I'll give you that, but God? Really?" Dean was still struggling with the news that Cas had brought, that he'd found God and God was John Winchester. It was just too far-fetched, too crazy, too freaking weird. Their Dad was not God. He was a great hunter, and a big damn hero, but not God, not even close. To reconcile all these conflicting thoughts, Dean took another long drink of his beer.

"It's true," Cas stated. "He is walking the Earth now, searching for his Grace."

"God has Grace?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow. Castiel nodded.

"It was torn from him by Zachariah and his minions in an effort to kill him several decades ago," the angel answered matter-of-factly. "Their mistake was underestimating the power of the creator of reality itself. They thought they killed him, but he only fell to Earth alongside his Grace, and was reborn as your father." Dean nodded slowly, still apprehensive, while Sam seemed to accept it already.

"So Dad's out there somewhere, looking for his Grace because he's actually been God all along," Dean clarified, mostly for himself.

"Yes."

"Last we saw, he vanished into the light," Sam said, voice quieter and eyes suddenly looking anywhere but the angel. "Did he go to Heaven?"

"Yes," Cas replied simply. This only raised another question for Dean, though.

"So if he rode a moonbeam up to the Pearly Gates, who sent him back down here to find his God mojo?" Sam looked back to the angel, eager for an answer as well.

"It was Saint Peter. He recognized your father and restored his memories, but couldn't give him his Grace back, so he sent him back here to find it." Castiel paused, mentally combing through the details. "At least, that's what he told me."

"You've seen him?" Dean snapped, seeming almost angry. This time, Cas only nodded, and the elder Winchester shook his head in disbelief. Leave it to John Winchester to avoid death by being God, and still see everyone but his own sons.

"Briefly," the angel replied, either missing or ignoring Dean's reaction. "In Eastern Europe. He looks just as he did when you knew him, and is searching for his Grace day and night." If anything could describe John Winchester, it was driven, and that apparently stuck with him no matter what. It was getting harder and harder for Dean to dismiss this.

"And he never once popped in to see us why?" the older man questioned, voice hard but eyes almost betraying his hurt. Castiel did pay attention to this, and softened his otherwise stoic demeanor slightly.

"He knew that exposing himself to you too soon would be a mistake." Dean started to protest, but Cas forged on. "You and Sam are hard-pressed to believe it now, even after more than a year of working with angels and Heaven. Would you really have believed him, or just thought he was another monster?" This logic halted Dean's protests, brow furrowing as he thought about it.

"Alright," he acquiesced, "I'll give you that. And it does sound like Dad to not even let us know he's alive. But really? God?"

"It's true, Dean," Castiel stated, obviously growing tired of reiterating the same point with Dean. "God fell to Earth after Zachariah tried to kill him, and was born as John Winchester."

"But why didn't my necklace light up or whatever whenever he was around? I spent a good ten years with him after I got it, give or take, and I don't ever remember it going red hot," Dean said.

"I'm not quite sure about that," the angel replied honestly, "though I do believe that it was his power unconsciously protecting him until the time was right. If it had grown hot back then, you would have noticed and probably gotten rid of it. This way, he was safe."

"So he still has some of his power?" Sam asked, earning a nod from the angel.

"Some has always resided with his soul, but he couldn't use it actively. That's why he needs his Grace."

"Does that mean he's the one that put us on that plane, and brought you back?" Dean inquired, silently hoping for a positive answer. That would be one burden lifted from their shoulders, the idea that Lucifer had done it for reasons unknown.

"Yes," Castiel replied, and both Winchesters sighed in relief. "He has been keeping an eye on us, and stretched the little power he still has to rescue all of us." Sam nodded slowly, already having accepted that idea and moving onto another.

"Okay, so if God is your father," the kid began, eyes never meeting his brother or the angel's, only darting side to side as if reading from a book only he could see, "and John Winchester's our dad, and he's actually God, then that means God's our father, and -"

"-and we're brothers," Dean finished, realization hitting him like a sack of shovels. His eyes shot instantly to Castiel, looking at him with a fresh curiosity. "Right? That makes us brothers, sort of."

"Yes, in a way," Cas replied, a slight smile curving his lips. "It explains your nature as vessels for the two most powerful angels in existence, as well. Being direct sons of God, you are inherently holier than even the most devout clergymen, and unlike nephilim, aren't damned for being the children of a fallen angel." Dean snorted, drawing the attention of the other two men to him.

"It's just funny, you know? God falls for a girl named Mary, and she pops out a son of God or two," he explained, a quirk turning the corners of his lips up the whole time. The idea put a grin on Sam's face as well, and even Cas smiled slightly at the irony.

"So now that we know, when do we get to see him?" Sam asked, breaking the briefly happy silence.

"I'm afraid you can't yet," he replied, speaking through the objections he saw both men about to voice. "He still doesn't have his Grace, and that means he's still mortal. If any one of us visits him, Lucifer's forces could find him. As long as he is without his Grace that can't happen. I promise you'll see him before this war is over, though." This seemed to be just enough to sate their questioning, as both men said nothing for a few moments.

Shrugging, Dean finally said, "Well, I can live with that." He polished off his beer and stood to get another from the fridge. One in hand, he glanced back at Cas and Sam. "You guys want one?" Sam nodded, catching the can that Dean tossed him easily. Cas, though, shook his head.

"I don't drink," he said, not meeting Dean's eyes for fear that he'd bring up the time at the brothel. Dean wasn't quite that mean, though a jovial grin did envelop his face.

"Come on, man, loosen up," he said, pulling out a third beer despite Cas' answer. Placing it in the angel's hand, he patted it and smiled. "Drink up. If you're gonna be a part of this family, you're going to need it." Sam nodded as Cas glanced to him for support. When he found none, he hesitantly opened the can and took a short drink, face automatically contorting in disgust.

"Why would someone ever choose to drink that?" he sputtered, wiping the corners of his mouth. Dean just smiled and drank his own.

"You get used to it," Sam replied.

"Why would anyone want to get used to that?" At this, both brothers shrugged.

"It helps, believe me," the younger man said. "Just drink it, okay?" With doubtful eyes, Castiel took another drink, grimacing marginally less this time around. Dean smiled and patted him on the back, almost proudly.

"Welcome to life as a Winchester."


End file.
